Friday, December 19, 1980 43 - THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Pianist Wins Concerto Event Archeological Find Re-Affirms French Jewish Roots By BEN FRANK ROUEN, France (JTA) — There were no posters, no trappings, no ribbons to cut, no flag raising. Yet, one knew im- mediately on a cool brisk day in October, in this capi- tal of Normandy which bris- tles with spires and towers, that Jewish history was not only being made, but more important that the world was being reminded that the roots of the Jews of France go deep. What was happening in this ancient courtyard of the Palace of Justice — once the town hall — was the formal dedication of the archeolog- ical discovery of a medieval Jewish building found by accident beneath the park- ing lot of the Palace. More significantly, the building is apparently the only Jewish institution of higher learning in Europe whose walls have survived either from antiquity or the Mid- dle Ages. Uncovered in the exca- vations, which were tobe dedicated that day, were Hebrew graffiti on the walls of this academy of higher learning of the Normanic Jews. Thus, the discovery of Rouen's Jewish history in the form of archeological explorations was, in ef- fect, the announcing to the world what has been known perhaps only by a few scholars: that Rouen was a most important medieval center in France for Jewish studies, overshadowing even Paris. On the minds, too, of all present, from the plainclothes police, to offi- cials, to Jewish and Chris- tian and Moslem religious leaders, was the abomina- 6/ MIKE HAVIS MEMBER IDSA 357 0 2777 mike hauls design CABINETRY/ FURNISHINGS DELIVERED INSTALLED DESIGNED BUILT OFFICE SUITES RESIDENTIAL 25771 BERG. RD. SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN 48034 FOR QUICK SALE OF YOUR UNWANTED USED FURS El-Mars Suburban Shop Marion Feuerman WE CAN SELL YOUR MINK COATS, JACKETS, STOLES, FUN FURS, FUR HATS El-Mars Furs 13661 W. 11 Mile just West of Coolidge Oak Park, Mich. (Across from A&P) Open 6 Days 11-5 p.m. No phone calls please Why SEIKO? Why not ... at 50% off. also LED Digital watches in stock. • Jewe ry Designe's & Manufacturers of Original & Unk.,suoi Creations • Authorized Appraisers • Estate Liquidators Closed Saturday ble terrorist bombing exactly 10 days earlier at the synagogue in Rue Copernic in Paris that kil- led four and wounded 32 persons. The dedication in Rouen — which is a little over an hour's drive from Paris — had been planned months earlier. But in mid-October, those present sought to paint the pictures of sym- bolism that were to be im- printed that afternoon in the form of a formal dedica- tion of a Jewish school of learning dating back to about the year 1090. (Some claim the building was a synagogue). The dedication cere- monies were special for Prof. Norman Golb of the University of Chicago. Before the Romanes- que building was dis- covered beneath the parking lot, the 51-year- old professor published his hypothesis of a yeshiva in the courtyard in a book titled, "History and Culture of the Jews of Rouen," which ap- peared in Hebrew in the spring of 1976. He had researched 150 manuscripts which he studied, in Jerusalem; the British Museum, the Bib- liotheque Nationale in Paris; libraries in Budapest, Amsterdam, New York, as well as the Vatican Library. His selection of the site of the yeshiva on Rouen's Rue aux Juifs (The Street of the Jews) was based on the fact that references to the build- ing stop with the 16th Cen- tury. This was the point at which the highly or- namented Palais de Justice was built. Equally fascinating is the fact that Golb may have dis- covered why Rouen was overlooked as a center of Judaism during the Middle Ages. It may have been bypassed because Hebrew references to the city were misread by Latin scholars. Until the 14th Century, Rouen was known as Ro- dom. In surviving Hebrew manuscripts, the name Rodom is written like Rhodoz, a medieval city in southern France. What happened was that scholars, often in recopy- ing the manuscripts, mis- took the Hebrew letter "samakh," for a final "mem." Golb said he was fascinated by the possi- bility that the city they were really talking about and writing about as a "thriving Jewish com- munity," was really Ro- dom, or Rouen. "I went back to the origi- nal manuscripts at the British Museum and my suspicions were im- mediately confirmed," he said. Subsequent studies of manuscripts in Paris, Amsterdam and Jerusalem, revealed detailed maps and descriptions of the Jewish quarter and life in the city. . NEED INVITATIONS Bar Mitzva Wedding Stationery Etc. 20% off Call Barbara Starkman 968-5080 661-0025 c7 . Eit2E//21.;L: 0ff12 `Increase in Arab Banks May Threaten Politicization' NEW YORK — The rise of new Arab 'banks threatens to politicize the international banking sys- tem in the next decade, ac- cording to the latest issue of "Petro-Impact," the bi- monthly publication of the American Jewish Commit- tee's Institute of Human Re- lations that reports on "pet- rodollar influence in American affairs." According to the publica- tion, the Arab banking sys- tem readily combines both political and financial goals because Arab-owned banks either are partly owned or sponsored by their govern- ments. Though Arab bankers in the past worked through Western banks both be- cause of their conservative outlook and their lack of managerial skills, today they want greater control and authority over man- agement of their money. By the end of this year, it is predicted that Arab oil pro- ducing states will have $340 million in assets worldwide, a figure that could rise to $1 billion by 1984 should oil prices remain stable. In a related article focusing on Arabs and American banks, "Petro-Impact" reports that the "torrent of petro-dollars expected to flood U.S. banks is thus far only a stream." A third article discusses Saudi investor Suliman Olayan's recent appoint- ment to Mobil Oil's board of directors. Olayan's ac- ceptance of the position was considered unusual since he prefers to hire highly placed Americans to represent him, such as former Treas- ury Secretary William Si- mon, now chairman of Cres- cent Diversified Ltd., one of Olayan's operating com- panies. Pianist Cathy Stay was recently named the winner in the annual concerto competition held at Oak- land University. In spring she will perform George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with the Oakland University Concert Band. 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